The brand Port Askaig (From Elixir Distillers) is celebrating its 10th anniversary (Yes, it has been around for ten years already!). The first special celebratory release is a new ten year old Port Askaig.
There are 10,000 bottles, all from 33 casks. Some are classic refill American-oak hogsheads like thos used in Port Askaig 100 Proof, along with first-fill bourbon casks and ex-solera sherry casks.
This expression was bottled at unusual strength – 55.85% which also happens to be the geographical latitude of port askaig itself.
Port Askaig 10 Year Old (55.85%, £68.95/€65.95)
Nose: lively and kicking but also very fresh. There can be no doubt this is a Caol Ila with all those classic Caol Ila notes: lemon, honey, seafood and seaweed, sweet peat but there’s also saltiness and bitter almonds to balance the sweetness.
Nose: Classic Caol Ila peat smoke, red apples, lemon, smoke and saltiness, malt cereals, cream, cured meat and after a while some fruity fragrance. It’s a mellow nose and not a very complex one but it has structure and backbone. With a few drops of water it’s fruitier with more honey, a touch of pineapple, extra vanilla and pears, richer and stronger. 
Nose: Dusty, oh so dusty, much more dusty than the 15 yo, that I had to re-check the bottle for whisky turbidity. Vanilla and honey, traces of peat smoke (even here you can’t really escape it ah?), pears, peaches and golden apples. After a few more minutes in the glass, it gets less dusty (although it’s still there in big way), sweeter and fruitier. 